Introduction: Premature ejaculation (PE) is one of the most common male sexual dysfunctions. Local anesthetics (LAs) and dapoxetine are frequently used to treat PE, however, previous studies show variable efficacy. This study aims to determine the efficacy of LAs and dapoxetine using a novel classification based on neurophysiological tests. Materials and methods: This multi-center cohort study enrolled adult men (n=568) with an intravaginal ejaculatory latency time (IELT) ≤2 min. Patients were divided into four groups according to the results of neurophysiological tests and assigned different treatments for 12 weeks: (1) Penile sensory hyperexcitability type (Sens): LAs; (2) Penile sympathetic hyperexcitability type (Symp): dapoxetine; (3) Mixed type (Mixed): both LAs and dapoxetine; (4) Normal type (Norm): both LAs and dapoxetine. Self-estimated IELT and patient-reported outcomes (PRO) were recorded. Results: The total percentage of men achieving IELT>2min and ≥5min after treatment were 82.7% and 76.7%, respectively. For men with abnormal results of neurophysiological tests, 401 (86.6%) had improved IELT >2min after the 12-week treatment course, in which 375 (81.0%) achieved IELT ≥5min. All PRO measures improved in each group after 12 weeks of treatment, with greater improvements among those with abnormal neurophysiological tests.
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